Framing



Se t, 22, 1942.

J. H. BROWN FRAMING' Filed Dec. 18, 1941 INVENTOR,

Patented Sept. 22, 1942 UNITED *STAT Efi EPATENT OFFICE FRAMING Joseph H. Brown, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application December 18, 1941, Serial No. 423,416

1 Claim.

This invention relates to the framing of pictures; and the invention has been made with the idea of providing, as a new article of -manufacture, a novel and valuable type of framing means for the picture, and, as another new article of manufacture, a novel and valuable combination of picture and framing meansthereforthe word picture being herein used in the broadest sense, and as including, for example, not only pictures of all kinds, but also, as well, certificates, .diplomas, maps and any decorative, inspirational or informative sheet, placard or the like which it has been customary, or it might be found desirable, to place within an .ordinary pictureframe, as in preparation for hanging the picture on the wall.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a carrier and framing means for the picture, and one adapted .tohave the picture mounted exteriorly thereof and at the same time in a recess therein and in a manner to simulate .the usual place of a picture behind the glass sheet of the ordinary glass sheet of the ordinary picture frame; which will be trifling in cost, of very light weight, unbreakable if dropped, easy to be cleaned all over, capable ofhavinga new picture installed or substituted for one then in place thereon and therein and this quickly and easily done because involving merely removal of one picture and replacement thereof by another, and yet so as finally to present-to the eye, after a picture has been added thereto, the appearance of an ordinary picture and picture-frame assembly.

Another object is toprovide such a carrierand framing means, of one-piece construction, which incorporates all the advantages just-mentioned while including a central plate-like portion against which the picture is to be flat-wisely secured, and wherein, nevertheless, said portion can either be transparentor not, 'accordingas it is desired to spread the picture behindor :in front of said portion.

Still another object, of special importance Where in connection with a carrierand framing A.

means pursuant to the invention as above it is planned to mount the picture in front .of said portion, is to provide for such combination the equivalent of a glass covering sheet for the picture, and this by arranging that said equivalent The invention will be clearly understood, and the various objects and advantages thereof, the above referred to and others, will be fully appreciated, because pointed out or apparent, from the following description of now favored embodiments of the invention as illustratively shown'in the accompanying drawing.

In said drawing- Fig. l is a front elevation, partially broken away and partially in section, showing one combination of picture, and carrier and framing means therefor, according to the invention.

Fig. 21s a transverse section, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view, but showing another combination of picture, and carrier and framing means therefor, according to the invention.

Fig. 4 is likewise a View similar to Fig. 1, but taken through the carrier and framing means shown in that view before a picture is combined therewith, and so 's'howingone possible embodiment of carrier and framing means pursuant to the invention.

A particular utility in mind in devising the invention was to allow of the production at exceedingly low cost of an article adapted for hanging on the wall as an ordinary assembly of picture and picture-frame is hung, but with this article then apparently, even on close inspection, a picture housed in an ordinary picture-frame behind the special glass-sheet of the latter. Other advantages which had to be provided for, were those hereinabove mentioned, and others. But the problem, primarily, was to provide an article which, including a picture and a carrier and framing means therefor, would be'one which would really be so cheap to produce that it could sell in the chain stores known as the five-andtens, and yet would, particularly when later hung on a wall in the home, be such a close replica of an ordinary framed picture as practically to defy detection that it was not.

I have found that these aims are fully met when the carrier and framing means, hereinbelow called the framer, is formed by heat and pressure from a sheet of thermoplastic material, such, for instance, as cellulose acetate. As will be understood, the thermoplastic material used need not be cellulose acetate. It could, for instance, be any organic derivative of cellulose or even a thermoplastic material of any other kind, such as methyl-methacrylate.

The framer illustrated, and marked generally Iii, is shown, by Way of example, as oblong in shape, and as having, at its obverse 'or front side,

also by way of example, a lateral contour for its frame-part corresponding to a favored such contour for a molding used in making an ordinary picture-frame. In carrying out the present invention, however, this frame-part is integral with a plate-like central sheet portion against which the selected picture is to rest in facewise contact therewith. Said frame-part is marked II, and said central sheet portion I2.

The frame-part I I, instead of being solid as in the'case of the framing-structure of the ordinary picture-frame assembly, is hollow; and the central sheet portion I2, instead of being in advance of a rearwardly extending pocket of considerable depth toward the front plane of the frame member (here the frame-part II), as in the ordinary picture-frame, is set well down in the said frame member, so that a fairly deep pocket I4 is provided in advance of said sheet portion. This feature facilitates hanging of the article flat against the wall, when a recommended means for thus hanging the article on the wall is employed as below explained; and at the same time, since thereby the hollow frame-part I I is stiffened to a striking extent by the inclusion therein not only of an outer perimetal wall I5 of considerable width but also of an inner perimetal wall l6 also of considerable width, an article very stiff and rigid against twist 'or warp fromits own plane can be provided when the sheet of thermoplastic material employed in making the article is of very little thickness and corresponding low cost. For example, in the case of a frame of about 5" x '7" outside dimensions, cellulose acetate of a thickness of .020" or somewhat less has been successfully used.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the picture can be attached to the rear of the central portion I2 of the framer II]; to obtain all the advantages of the invention, as will be explained.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the picture can be attached to the front of the central portion I 2 of the framer II]; also to obtain all the advantages of the invention, as will be explained.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, more in detail, the sheet of thermoplastic material used for making the framer II] is of the transparent type, so that when the framer is finally ready for taking a picture, the central portion I2 of the framer will in efiect be a transparent pane therein and one apparently of glass.

The picture, marked I1, is tightly fiatwisely secured, in any suitable way, against the rear face of the central portion I2 of the framer H1. Then the picture H, as one on a paper or other sheet, and which may have had lithographed thereon, for example, a floral subject as indicated at I8 in Fig. 1 to constitute such picture, is visible through the central portion I2 of the framer In yet is apparently covered by the glass sheet usual in ordinary picture-frame assemblies, and, in consequence, the element thus simulating said glass sheet is apparently a special glass sheet, and one separate from the usual framecomponent of the ordinary picture-frame assembly apparently also present especially when the feature of the invention next explained is used.

According to the invention, further, in a preferred way of carrying out the same, the framepart II of the framer I0 is made to have an appearance different in color, finish, transparency or other attribute from the central transparent portion I2. Said frame-part II can be made non-transparent; or, if made transpicuous,

it can be made to have a degree or kind of transpicuity different from that of the central portion I2. For instance, the frame-part II can be given a frosting, or an opaque or partially opaque coloration or other quality, or covering; such, but only again by way of example, to pre sent an opalescent appearance from light re fiected therefrom or reflected or otherwise transmitted therethrough. Also, the frame-part II, can be coated with an enamel of any color or colors or an enamel-simulating coloration, even to obtain gold, silver, bronze and like effects, or those giving close imitations of oak, mahogany, maple, cherry and like effects; etc., etc. Decalcomania means, particularly of the heat and pressure transferred type, can be the means used. Also, liquid finishes, and applicable by well-known spraying methods, can be employed. Such finishes, which are well-known, can-be applied, either to the front or rear surfaces of the frame-part II; and by the use of a masking element, the technique of which is well-known in the art of sprayed-on finishes, to have the area of the central portion I2 marked off by a cleancut line defining the inner perimetral limit for the frame-part I I. Any other means or methods for covering the inner or outer side of the framepart II, or otherwise affecting the appearance of the same contrastingly of that of the central portion I2, is within the invention. Strips or otherwise properly cut pieces of a textile material, an imitation leather, or any sheet material, can, for instance be adhered to the frame-part Desirably, the securement of the picture H to the central portion I2 of the framer I0 is by means of adhesion. Many suitable ways for doing this are possible; among others, those which will now be mentioned. Cellulose lacquer, or any transparent heat-sealing cement, such as du Ponts Thermoplastic Cement #4621, made by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., of Wilmington, Del., could be applied to one or the other or both surfaces to be cohered; or such a material could be incorporated in or on the picture I1, and the adhesion effected by heat and pressure. Also, any of the well-known solvents for the particular one or more of the thermoplastic materials of which the new framer is formed, as, for instance, a suitable alcohol or a mixture of alcohol and highly volatile hydrocarbons, could be applied to the rear face of the central portion I2, and the cohesion effected by pressure. A true lamination of the picture and said portion I2 should be the aim; and the use of squeegee means for applying said pressure is recommended. The solvent can be sprayed on the face of the picture, or the picture canbe impregnated with the solventby immersion; and thereafter, but before the solvent has too much evaporated, the picture can be applied to the portion I2, for lamination there to, by pressure, or by'heat and pressure. The technique for accomplishing such lamination is well understood in the art of laminating a thermoplastic sheet element to another sheet element, with the latter itself thermoplastic, or carrying a thermoplastic coating or having thermoplastic material otherwise carried thereby, or with the secondnamed element non-thermoplastic. Again, in preparation for a joinder of the picture and the framer III, the picture at its front side, or all over, or within the same, could carry a thermoplastic material of a kind to allow the picture to be cohered to the central portion I2 of the framer ID, by heat and pressure. Also, in prepare/Dion for a joinder of the picture and the framer ID, the front of the picture could carry a top layer of thermoplastic material, in the form of a film of such material previously existing as a self-sustaining sheet and laid over the face of the picture and cohered thereto by heat and pressure. If a cement be used as above, the same need not be a heat-sealing one; and instead, for example, the wellknown transparent rubber cement, purchaseable on the open market under 1 the name of rubber cement, could be employed.

The hereinbefore referred to means as recommended for hanging the new article on and fiat against the wall, is a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive, carried in any suitable way, for instance, according to the teaching of my copending application Ser. No. 420,963, at a suitable point on the rear face of the picture H. A pressure-sensitive adhesive, as is Well-known, is one, such as is used on masking or Scotch tape, and which, after being laid as a coating on a carrying sheet, can be made to act to attach that sheet securely to a support against which the coating is contacted and pressed. A good location for Such coating at the rear face of the picture I! would be one, say, within the area indicated by the broken line showing I9 in Fig. 1.

The pocket I4 is desirably of such depth, relative to the width of the wall I5, and the over-all thickness of the central portion I2 and the picture I1, that, with the coating I9 in place on the rearofthepicture, the free perimetral edge of said wall I all around the same will be very close to or actually touch the wall-support against which the new article is hung, and yet a definite but not necessarily heavy rubbing or rolling pressure against the upper middle part of the central portion I2 will set up the required dependable cling between the pressure-sensitive adhesive and the wall.

Referring next to the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, this is shown as in all respects like that of Figs. 1 and 2; except that here the picture I! has its back placed against and secured to the front of the central portion I2 of the framer I9, and except that the pocket I4 is somewhat deeper than in Fig. 2, so that the rear side of the central portion I2 will be at about the same location relative to the plane of the perimetral free edge of the wall I5 in Fig. 3, as the location of the rear side of the picture I! to said plane in Fig. 2.

In such case, that is, with the picture mounted on the front side of the framer III, the central portion I2 need not be transparent, and so the new article to provide a carrier and framing means according to the invention can be formed of a thermoplastic sheet which all over will have the same coloration or other attribute desired finally for the frame-part I I whereby, further to reduce the cost of said article, the same can be made so as to be finally completed when formed from said sheet, because incorporating a framepart which, after the picture has been added to the article, bears the desired faithful resemblance to an ordinary picture-frame.

To complete the illusion, that is, to have the picture I! here, too, present the appearance of being within said ordinary picture-frame and behind the glass sheet therein, the picture is covered at its front or obverse side with a glassily surfaced transparent layer, as indicated at in Fig. 3, or otherwise suitably treated to have an equivalent appearance. Such layer can be very inexpensively and easily applied by laying over the picture a very thin sheet of cellulose acetate, one of a thickness of the order of about .001, and laminating the picture and said sheet by heat and pressure. Also, the front of the picture can be given a glassy appearance by impregnating the sheet which carries the picture, or by spraying or otherwise applying to the front side of the picture, a transparent cellulose lacquer, or a transparent heat-sealing cement, such as the one mentioned hereinabove, and by applying heat and pressure, by platens or calendering rolls.

The picture I! can be secured at its rear side to the front of the central portion I2 of the framer ID in any suitable Way, as in any of the Ways above described or referred to for attaching the picture I! to the rear of said portion I2 in Figs. 1 and 2.

Also, with the picture I! on the front side of the framer In as in Fig. 3, the picture can thus be mounted by using pressure-sensitive adhesive as above, with the one or more locations for said adhesive, between the back of the picture and the front of the central portion I2 of the framer, so placed that the picture will lie absolutely flat against said central portion. This advantage is of particular importance in minimizing the stock to be carried by a chainstore, or any retail outlet. In the stock to be carried, there would be no necessity of carrying any style of framer with any particular picture therein, and therefore no necessity of carrying as many items as there are possible framer-and-picture combinations offered to the selection of the customer. That is, a customer can select any particular framer, and any particular picture, and the sales-clerk could then and there mount the selected picture in the selected framer.

The just-described embodiment of Fig. 3 can, like that of Fig. 2, be quickly and easily hung on and flat against a wall-support, by use of a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer or coating at a convenient location, as one corresponding to that of the layer I9 of Fig. 1; except, of course, that said coating will be at the rear of the central portion I2 of the framer.

As will be understood, in aid of clarity no attempt has been made in the drawing to show true relative thicknesses, or true thicknesses relative to other dimensions.

I claim:

An article of the character described comprising, a sheet of plastic material shaped to provide a central flat panel against which a picture is adapted to be attached, a hollow integrallyformed frame part extending around the panel and projecting forwardly beyond the front side thereof so that said panel forms the bottom of a comparatively deep pocket, the frame part being of channel formation and having a surrounding flange of such a depth that the inner end of the same is located substantially in the same plane as the rear face of the panel, said panel being transparent and adapted to receive the picture behind it whereby it will create the illusion that said picture is behind the ordinary glass sheet of the conventional picture frame.

JOSEPH H. BROWN. 

